2.1.2 Introduction

From its inception in 1957, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was given the role of establishing international safety standards. Its standards on the safe transport of radioactive material were soon adopted globally but it was not until after the serious nuclear reactor accident at Chernobyl in 1986 that the importance and benefits of having common international safety standards for all activities involving the use of ionizing radiation was fully appreciated. In the last two decades the safety standards of the IAEA covering nuclear power plants and the rest of the nuclear fuel cycle as well as the medical and industrial applications of radioactive material have become accepted as the common basis for national safety regulations. This chapter describes the safety standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency.